It may not be an old race, but the Listed Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic has some very nice names on its honour roll, won by the likes of subsequent Gold Coast Magic Millions winners O’Ole, Unencumbered and Capitalist as well as the Gr.1 gallopers Jonker and Farnan.
We take a look at the backgrounds of this year’s runners…
1 Belvante
Farnan – Bel Mer (Bel Esprit)
The first of two runners by the Golden Slipper winner Farnan who won this race in 2019, Belvante is a $350,000 Magic Millions graduate. He is the 12th foal for for the Robert Sangster Stakes winner Bel Mer who has done such a great job at stud with all ten of her runners being winners.
And two of those are stakes winners – Bel Merci and All Too Royal whilst her daughter Orabelle is dam of the stakes winners Midnight In Tokyo and Generosity. Bel Mer’s dam and grandam Drop Anchor and Marine Park were also stakes winners.
A descendant of the acclaimed matriarch Cinna, Belvante (bred by Bell River Thoroughbreds and partners) boasts crosses of Northern Dancer, Nijinsky, Vain and Bletchingly.
2 Celtic Spy
Farnan – Angharad (Exceed And Excel)
The second runner for his promising young sire, Celtic Spy was bred in Queensland by Yarramalong out of their proven broodmare Angharad; fetching $140,000 as a Gold Coast yearling.
A winner at Gosford and Wyong at two, she is dam of the Gr.2 galloper In Good Order out of the dual city winner Swansea whose five winners include the Group 3 winners Sweynesse and Rimraam.
Carrying three strains of Danehill and two of his relation Halo, Celtic Spy has Nijinsky in his sire and is a descendant of that great horse’s influential ancestress Torpenhow (as is Farnan’s grandsire Redoute’s Choice).
3 Marwooba
Wootton Bassett – Marguns (Fastnet Rock)
Another Queensland bred (TJT Bloodstock and Smkt Thoroughbreds), this $400,000 Magic Millions purchase is out of an unraced daughter of the Tattersall’s Tiara winner Pear Tart, dam of two stakes placegetters including Italia Bella whose son Lim’s Bighorn won at Gr.2 level in Singapore.
By a popular stallion who died recently, Marwooba is a member of the prolific Fanfreluche family and he boasts crosses of the prolific mares Natalma, Special and Flaming Page.
4 Paradoxium
Extreme Choice – Paredo (Better Than Ready)
In the same Bjorn Baker stable as last year’s winner O’Ole, this $400,000 yearling bred by Grant Bloodstock, Carpe Diem Asset Management and Brian McGuire is the first foal for the stakes placed city winner Paredo.
Paradoxium shares the same grandam – the two time winning Danehill mare Pilgrim (half-sister to the Gr.1 galloper Arkady) – as The Galaxy winner Private Harry.
His star sire Extreme Choice is bred on a Danehill/Mr Prospector/Naskra cross whilst his dam is Mr Prospector/Naskra/Danehill.
5 Seeiaye
Russian Revolution – Blue Blazers (I Am Invincible)
A $27,500 pinhook from the Inglis Weanling Sale who resold for $65,000 at the Magic Millions, he is by Snitzel’s dual Gr.1 winning sprinter Russian Revolution who raced twice at two; successful both times.
Seeiaye is the second foal (the first being the recent winner Columbia Blue) for the unraced Rosehill trial winner Blue Blazers whose full brother Super One won in Group company in Adelaide and Singapore.
Winner of the Max Lees Classic at debut, Seeiaye (bred by Reg Kemister) boasts strong male line-breeding patterns with crosses of Canny Lad, Danzig, Lunchtime, Storm Bird, Northern Dancer, Mr Prospector and His Majesty.
6 Behindcloseddoors
Home Affairs – Do Not Disturb (Fastnet Rock)
Bred by Go Bloodstock and sold at the Gold Coast for $250,000, this first crop runner for a dual Gr.1 winner who was only just beaten at his two-year-old debut, Behindcloseddoors is the second foal (her first the Gosford winner Now You’ve Done It) for a lightly raced two time winner.
Behindcloseddoor’s grandam is the stakes placed Breakfast In Bed, dam of the dual Group 1 winning juvenile King’s Legacy from the prolific Easy Date family that has produced such classy gallopers as Snippets, Not A Single Doubt, Forensics and Rewaaya.
Also from this family is the Gr.1 winner Oohood whose sire I Am Invincible is the sire of Home Affairs.
7 Masvingo
Zoustar – Rotator (Not A Single Doubt)
By Australia’s reigning Champion Sire Zoustar, Masvingo was bred by Grant Bloodstock, fetching $580,000 as a yearling.
Strong to the line when stakes placed at debut, she is out of a Gr.3 placed daughter of the Listed winning Reset mare Warpath whose seven winners include the dual Group winner Positive Peace.
Bred on a 3 X 3 cross of Redoute’s Choice, Masvingo is also line-bred to her own sixth dam Grand Splendor – the Gr.3 winning grandam of Fappiano, dam sire of Zoustar’s sire Northern Meteor.
Grand Splendor’s fifth dam is the famed matriarch Plucky Liege.
8 Mystical
Exceed And Excel – Rainbow Falls (Dubawi)
Catching the eye with a fast finishing second at her Max Lees Classic debut, this $425,000 yearling bred by Bromfield Park hails from the penultimate crop off her high achieving sire.
She is the second locally bred foal (the first Yulong’s yet to race Toorongo Falls by Kingman) for an unraced imported Dubawi mare from an Australian family.
Rainbow Falls is out of the Gr.3 winning juvenile Colour whose dual Listed winning dam Regrowth is also dam of the Gr.3 winner Boognish, grandam of the Gr.2 winning stallion Derryn and third dam the Magic Millions 2Y0 Classic winner Arabian Summer.
This is the prolific Easy Date family from which Behindcloseddoors also hails.